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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24327658">Operation Saving Minagi Tsuzuru</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ari_es/pseuds/ari_es'>ari_es</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A3 Shorts [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A3! (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, featuring OC director, rest of the Troupes show up too but it's mostly Spring</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:47:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,415</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24327658</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ari_es/pseuds/ari_es</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After Tsuzuru falls and nearly hurts himself while stumbling out of his room when he'd finished writing a script, the director thought it was time to take things into her own hands to protect him better. What had been a pretty good (?) idea started to derail as the other Spring Troupe members interfered and added their own "flairs". Can the director succeed in Saving Minagi Tsuzuru? Or will she end up causing more trouble for him than he started out with?!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A3 Shorts [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1756318</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Operation Commences</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello hello. This work features the same OC director as in my other A3 work in this series; I've included a small bio about her in that one if you're curious. Nothing much needs to be known about her to read this one. </p><p>It's meant to be read in one sitting, but I've broken it up into a few chapters since it's a bit long. Hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>With 25 men and a talking parrot living under one roof, there was no shortage of commotion at the Mankai dorm. There was a particular kind of commotion however, that though quiet, nevertheless caused its own special kind of disturbance.</p><p>“Director-” the croak came from behind the couch, and if it wasn’t the dozenth time she’d heard it, Isuzu might have jumped out of her skin.</p><p>“Tsuzuru-kun?!” as it were, all her senses had trained her to respond to the half-dead tenor of that voice with lightning fast reflexes. She turned around and saw the playwright stumbling down the hallway, a stack of papers in his hands.</p><p>“The script—it’s done…” It attested to how many times she’d done this that she could see the scene playing out in her head as it played out right in front of her. That’s why she also knew the exact moment his knees gave out and he was about to keel over.</p><p>“WOH–” she gave her best war cry and lunged forward. Before Tsuzuru hit the ground, she managed to put her arms between him and the floor, though jolting her quite painfully in the process. “Phew…” she sighed, feeling her soul leaving her body.</p><p>“Nice catch!” Kazunari, who had been in the kitchen getting coffee, shouted out in compliment.</p><p>“That was so cool!” came Kumon’s enthusiastic response from the couch behind her. “Did you play baseball when you were in school, director?!”</p><p>“No…” Isuzu straightened up onto her knees with another exhale, supporting Tsuzuru up with her arms. Omi, who had just returned to the room, hurried to help her. “But I did play volleyball.”</p><p>“Cool-” Kumon was mid-exclaim when a voice beside him suddenly called out.</p><p>“Kumon-” Juza said, “you’re squishing the dough.”</p><p>Kumon looked down at the round—or supposed to be round—ball of dough he was making, and morphing now into more of a deflated ball.</p><p>“Oh no!” he quickly rolled it back into a ball, looking over at his brother’s balls of dough—and Omi’s perfectly round ones—as example.</p><p>The group had decided to try frying some doughnuts, as a weekend treat and also as a thank-you for Tsuzuru in anticipation of his script writing completion.</p><p>Isuzu moved Tsuzuru onto the side sofa with Omi, and set a spare blanket on him. He was out like a light despite all the noise and commotion.</p><p>“He could have hit his head if I had gotten there a second later,” Isuzu fussed, “we should really do something about this…”</p><p>“We can put up padding around the room!” Misumi, who had come into the room unnoticed, exclaimed jubilantly, “triangular padding!”</p><p>“That might become more of a hazard…” Isuzu mused, “but padding is not a bad idea…”</p><p>“We should wrap Tsuzuroon in bubble wrap!” came Kazunari’s suggestion next. He handed Misumi the box of triangular crackers he had come into the kitchen for, and the other happily popped it open to snack on, giving one to Kazunari to share.</p><p>“I feel like that would make Sakyo-san a danger to him…” Isuzu still remembered the almost vindictive way Sakyo was popping a small sheet of bubble wrap last time at their meeting, when their budget calculations ran higher than expected.</p><p>“How about protective padding on his body?” Kumon suggested, “ball players wear some.”</p><p>Isuzu's eyes seemed to light up. “That might not be a bad idea…”</p><hr/><p>“Masumi-kun, I need your help with an important mission.”</p><p>“You’re coming to me for help?” Isuzu could almost see the invisible tail wagging behind Masumi, and the sparkle lighting up from deep in his violet eyes. She really needed to do something about this puppy crush of his, but there was something more important to take care of today.</p><p>“Yes,” she said simply, “I need you to put this on Tsuzuru-kun when he’s almost done with the script. You can tell right? Since you’re his roommate.”</p><p>Isuzu was holding up four pieces of thick padding, one for the head, one for the torso, and one for the hips and legs; they were more like safety pads or large styrofoam than sports padding, but they would do. She had looked for them after Kumon’s suggestion last time, and was surprised to find something in the storage room. Why the company even had them in the first place she didn’t know.</p><p>“Padding…?” Masumi looked expectedly confused, and maybe a little disappointed at the nature of the request.</p><p>“That’s right; it’s for Tsuzuru-kun’s protection when he comes out of his room after he finishes a script,” Isuzu said, “with these on he won’t hurt himself even if he falls!”</p><p>“You...want me to put it on him? Won’t he notice?”</p><p>“Well…” Isuzu considered it seriously, “given Tsuzuru-kun’s near delirious state when he’s nearing a script’s end, I think he won’t pay it much mind, especially if you’re quiet and subtle about it. You can do that right Masumi-kun?” she was aware she was playing a little too much into it, possibly exploiting his “yes-man” attitude for anything related to her; but desperate times called for desperate measures...</p><p>“If you’re asking me to, then of course,” he said simply, and once again Isuzu could nearly feel the little hearts flying past his head and hitting her on the cheek.</p><p>“Great Masumi-kun!” she patted him cordially on the shoulders, ignoring the way his body jolted and seemed to buzz with electricity. “Operation Saving Minagi Tsuzuru is in your hands!”</p><p>If Masumi stayed rooted to the spot with the pieces of padding stuffed in his arms for a few minutes, Isuzu pretended not to notice.</p><hr/><p>The plan was set to commence sooner than Isuzu anticipated. A special request from one of Itaru's acquaintances meant they had to come up with a new script in about a week's time. Tsuzuru was working in overdrive, and while it was good he seemed to be on a roll and full of ideas, Isuzu—and the rest of the Spring Troupe—couldn't help but worry if he wasn't working too hard.</p><p><em> Alright Masumi-kun, how's it looking? </em> Isuzu was LIME-ing Masumi from the lounge, where she and the rest of Spring Troupe were waiting.</p><p><em> He's almost done with it </em> , came Masumi's response. He was a surprisingly fast texter. <em> Director, did you see my previous message about the dessert cafe? We should go together. </em></p><p><em> Focus Masumi-kun!! </em> Isuzu typed with furious speed, <em> quick, put the padding on him before he's done! </em></p><p>The LIME chatroom went silent, and Isuzu thought it was a real toss up between Masumi actually listening to her and executing the plan, and him just giving up and sulking in his room because of her unenthusiastic response. When the rattle came down the hallway, jolting her and the other Spring Troupe members, however, Isuzu had hope in her heart again.</p><p>"Director-" sure enough the distinctive post-script-completion croak came again, and Isuzu held her breath as the figure speaking it came into view.</p><p>She might've actually burst out into laughter if it wasn't for the supposed seriousness of the situation, though Citron and Itaru were already chortling enough for her part.</p><p>Tsuzuru was wrapped—more like stuffed—between the four pieces of padding, looking rather like a walking jacket-burrito or sleeping bag. It was really a wonder he couldn’t notice his own state right now, but Isuzu supposed that just attested to how zoned out he was.</p><p>"The script-" he continued, the papers out stretched in his trembling hand.</p><p>"Yes-" Isuzu cleared her throat and swallowed down her snickers. She had to show Tsuzuru her respect and appreciation for him completing his work in such a short time. She hurried from the couch to take the script from him, and ushered him back towards where they were seated.</p><p>A gloomy looking Masumi followed behind. Isuzu gave him her most winning smile as thanks, and he seemed somewhat cheered by it. She supposed going to the dessert cafe with him wouldn't be so bad, just as thanks for him doing this favor for them.</p><p>"Thank you so much Tsuzuru-kun!" Isuzu half-led half-supported Tsuzuru to the couch, and while he babbled more incoherencies about the script, she eased him into a lying position on an empty seat. Sakuya watched worriedly and with as much careful concern as Isuzu was laying Tsuzuru down, but Isuzu could see Citron pulling out his mobile phone.</p><p>"No photos!" Isuzu held up her hand at Citron, stopping him in his tracks.</p><p>"Oh boo!" Citron pouted, but put his phone away obediently.</p><p>"How about this though,” Itaru suddenly said, “to liven Tsuzuru up a little…" Before Isuzu could stop him, Itaru had taken out a sharpie from god knows where, and advanced on the sleeping playwright faster than lightning stroke.</p><p>Several quick scribbles later and Itaru stepped aside to reveal—a full suit of armor drawn onto Tsuzuru's padding?!</p><p>"<em> Wow </em>," Chikage exclaimed airily, "impressive."</p><p>"Tsuzuru-kun looks like a hero!" Sakuya exclaimed in genuine awe.</p><p>"Oh, that is amazing!" Citron looked torn between laughing and being impressed. "I really wish to take a photo now!"</p><p>"No, uh, photos," Isuzu stammered. She had to admit Itaru did a good job; Tsuzuru really looked like a level 200 knight in one of Itaru’s games. And who knew he had such good art skills? But she suspected it was only because it was game and geek-related.</p><p>"Are we going to look at the script?" Masumi asked, unamused and unfazed by the display before him.</p><p>"Umm...yeah, I suppose we should start reading through it…" Isuzu agreed distractedly.</p><p>They hadn't read through three pages when suddenly the bundle on the couch snorted loudly, then sat up with a jolt. "Ohnothepunctuation-"</p><p>Tsuzuru only seemed to realize what was going on and where he was after he had blinked half a dozen times, and could make out the frozen faces of Isuzu and the other Spring members in full focus. Then his face flushed a bright right and he stammered, "uh s-sorry; I think I made a mistake on page 26…"</p><p>"Don't worry about it!" Isuzu reassured him, "we can fix the little details later."</p><p>"Alright-" Tsuzuru scratched his head sheepishly, and that was when his hand came upon a smooth and unfamiliar material. "Wait huh?" He looked down at himself in surprise and confusion, "what the! Why am I wrapped in padding?!"</p><p>"Uh…" Isuzu hadn't thought this far ahead, "it was for your protection! In case you hurt yourself-"</p><p>"Is there marker on this?" Tsuzuru was too caught up in his "armor" to hear Isuzu's words. "Hang on-"</p><p>"Here Tsuzuru," Chikage opened his phone and turned on the front-facing camera for the playwright, "you might want to take a look at yourself…"</p><p>Tsuzuru stared back at his reflection, hair frazzled and face squished between a piece of "helmet". He looked from Chikage's bemused face, to Sakuya's worried but sincere expression, to Citron's excited look, to Masumi’s impassive stare, to Itaru, who was pretending to look at his phone. There was really only one person who could be the culprit.</p><p>"Itaru-san…!!"</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Small Hiccups</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After the disaster of the last Operation Saving Minagi Tsuzuru, Isuzu wondered if she should just give it a rest. But the thought of Tsuzuru’s unsteady steps tottering near the kitchen table’s edge, or nearly face-planting over stray items left on the floor—like Hisoka, for example—made her blood run cold. So she decided to give it another shot—with a little modification this time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay guys, are you ready?” Isuzu looked at Kumon and Tenma, who were in position at the hallway leading from Tsuzuru and Masumi’s room to the lounge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two teens nodded their heads. They were decked out in their First Crush Baseball uniforms—a rather useless addition insisted on by Kumon—and had large pieces of padding held in their hands, like the ones used for practicing football tackles. The plan was not to put the padding </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tsuzuru this time, but simply to guide him to safety with some extra protection on the side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if on cue, the door to Tsuzuru’s room opened, and out came the playwright in his zombie walk. Isuzu—and the rest of Summer Troupe—had positioned herself in view of his room, and watched as Tenma and Kumon slithered to his side while pressed against the wall. They weren’t doing a very good job of hiding, but it seemed like Tsuzuru’s field of vision shrunk to only what was right in front of him in this state. The two Summer actors followed Tsuzuru all the way into the lounge, sometimes coming forward to pad his steps back into a steady line, sometimes kicking away a stray magazine or toy—it’s like they’re raising a dog in the dorm—on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsuzuru managed to hand the script over to Isuzu, and she thought they might be in the clear this time. But suddenly one of his feet stepped on the other, and he slipped sideways towards the tea table.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my gosh-” Isuzu didn’t know if that was her or Muku, but as they yelped, Tenma and Kumon immediately rushed forward with their paddings. They managed to catch Tsuzuru before he could fall much further, and supported him as they pushed him back towards the couch. Kazunari and Misumi helped the two place Tsuzuru comfortably on the couch, and everyone let out a collective breath.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Geez,” Tenma sighed as he plopped down onto a free seat, taking off his baseball gear, forehead and arms covered in sweat. “That was close.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t realize finishing a script could be so dangerous,” Kumon puffed out, also airing his shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think that’s just because Villager C doesn’t have much common sense,” Yuki chided, though his temple was glistening with cold sweat, “sheesh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isuzu laughed nervously. “Thankfully we managed to catch him this time...let’s do a quick read-through of the script while we wait for Tsuzuru-kun to wake up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They spent the next ten minutes or so doing a silent reading of the script together, when a figure suddenly caught Isuzu’s eyes. Citron was peeking over the couch at the sleeping Tsuzuru, and if the sparkle in his eyes were anything to go by, he was up to no good.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Citron-kun-” before Isuzu could even finish her warning, Citron was already springing into action.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh! It is my turn this time!” he exclaimed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He flipped rather gracefully over the couch, landing softly so that he was hovering over Tsuzuru’s sleeping form. He picked up a strand of Tsuzuru’s hair, and said with a gentle and dashing smile: “oh my sleeping beauty, won’t you wake up if I give you a summer night’s kiss?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uwahh!” Muku gasped, “this is just like a scene from a shoujo manga!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kazunari, who had his phone already trained on the scene, cheered: “Woohoo! Looking good Ron-ron!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isuzu groaned; she was really starting to feel all her energy draining from her body. How these guys had so much energy all the time, and could get up to all these antics, she really didn’t know.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Huh? What’s up, what’s going on?” a curious Taichi, with a coca-cola can in his hand, came over towards the couch. As he opened the can, the spilling fizz made him jump, and then bump into the back of the couch—and by extension Citron’s hovering body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isuzu watched in seeming slow-motion as Citron lost his balance and tipped forward, his mouth landing square between Tsuzuru’s eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Opps-” Citron covered his lips, “I missed!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean you missed?!” Tenma exclaimed, his face looking a little flushed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will try again-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was at this very moment that Tsuzuru groaned groggily, and blinked open his bleary eyes. And what he was greeted with was sun-kissed skin and a pair of glistening, looming, lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What the–Citron-san!"</span>
</p><hr/><p>
  <span>It was no surprise to Isuzu that the next time they had a script meeting, Tsuzuru would be in this state.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The playwright seemed to have had enough of all the strange situations he’d found himself in whenever he woke up after passing out from handing in his scripts. His solution was to simply skip the entire process, by forcing himself to stay awake the whole time instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was currently sitting with his arms crossed tight as a wrench with Isuzu and the Autumn Troupe for their preliminary script reading. Judging by the way his fingers twitched on his arm every so often, and how the skin under his eyes jumped involuntarily from time to time, Isuzu guessed he must have had coffee—and alot of it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tsuzuru-kun…” Isuzu ventured cautiously, “are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I’m just fine!” the playwright forced out the words like a hammer hitting nails; he certainly didn’t sound fine.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Sakyo didn’t seem very pleased with the situation, but as a man of efficiency he was willing to overlook it for the moment. “Let’s go through the script then if you’re up for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group read through the script, and as usual made comments here and there. Some were banal remarks, others praises; and some, quite reasonably, were criticisms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t sound right,” Banri was saying, “don’t you think this character would be more brusque here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? What’s wrong with it?” Tsuzuru all but blurted. He looked downright insulted, and he hadn’t moved an inch from his tightly wound posture.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, I’m just saying-” Banri didn’t seem to take Tsuzuru’s tone very well, “for this kind of character he wouldn’t show this much compassion here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you saying you could write it better?” Tsuzuru retorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I’m saying-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“ENOUGH!” Sakyo’s voice thundered through the room, “Minagi, if you can’t even take constructive criticism, sit out of the meeting until you feel better!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tsuzuru,” another voice suddenly, but rather smoothly, interrupted them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Isuzu looked over to see Chikage standing by the couch where Sakyo and a worried looking Juza was sitting. As she watched, Chikage walked closer to the tea table, then took out a pendant from his pocket. He held the pendant dangling in front of Tsuzuru’s face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re being disruptive you know,” Chikage said, his voice taking on a low, hypnotic tone; the pendant swung slowly side to side. “The rest of the troupe can’t move forward if you’re holding them back like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-” Tsuzuru was blinking rather rapidly. He seemed both unable to focus his gaze on the pendant, and having trouble tearing his eyes away from it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t you go rest?” Chikage continued, “the others have got it from here. Don’t you trust them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That-uh-” </span>
  <span>Tsuzuru was slowly becoming entranced in Chikage’s spell, and the other man put in his final touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You should go to sleep right away. Don't you know that sleeping helps refresh the brain? And you might generate new ideas as you enter REM sleep and dream…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tsuzuru's eyes glazed over, then slowly his head dipped forward and finally slumped down near his chest, still and unstirring. Satisfied, Chikage withdrew his pendant and stepped back with a smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There, that should do it,” Chikage said, “you guys can continue with your meeting now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh, thanks Chikage-san,” Isuzu said, realizing once again what a scary and unpredictable guy Chikage was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My pleasure,” Chikage smiled again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They watched him walk away with a kind of stunned and awed silence. Omi got up to move Tsuzuru into a more comfortable position, while Taichi seemed to be deep in thought about something.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think I could learn that trick from Chikage-san?” he asked aloud, “Would it make me more popular...?”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Peaceful Rest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Isuzu inhaled deeply then let out a long breath. She raised her hand to knock on the door, but before she could make a sound it opened inwards.</p><p>“Masumi-kun?” Isuzu asked in surprise, “how did you know I was here?”</p><p>“I know everything when it comes to you,” he said.</p><p>“Right, okay…” Isuzu side-stepped him into the room, but found it empty of anyone else. “Huh? Where’s Tsuzuru-kun?”</p><p>“He went up to the balcony for some fresh air,” Masumi said, “something about a bad headache.”</p><p>“That’ll probably be from all the coffee…” Isuzu mumbled.</p><p>“You’re in my room,” Masumi was talking with hearts in his voice again, “you came to see me?”</p><p>“No,” Isuzu said rather simply, “I came to apologize to Tsuzuru-kun.”</p><p>“Apologize?”</p><p>“You know,” Isuzu waved her arms, the fruit tarts she’d made for him flopping uselessly in the small bag in her hand, “for all that stuff with the Operation.”</p><p>“You did all of that for his sake,” Masumi said with a disgruntled note in his voice, “he should be grateful.”</p><p>“Well, it didn’t turn out that well did it-”</p><p>“Oh, director!” Isuzu jumped in her skin at the voice, thinking the room’s other occupant had come back; but the voice didn’t belong to Tsuzuru.</p><p>“Oh, Sakuya-kun?” she turned around to see him hanging around the open doorway. “What’s up?”</p><p>“Actually, it’s about Tsuzuru-kun…”</p><p>“Oh, we were just talking about him.”</p><p>“I was thinking, next time he finishes a script-”</p><p>Isuzu leaned her ear over and listened to the Spring Troupe Leader’s plan.</p><hr/><p>“No that’s not right just a little more,” Tsuzuru mumbled, fingers flying away at the keyboard. “Maybe like this? What’s the word I’m looking for here?”</p><p>Masumi, who was sitting in his bunk on his side of the room, looked with slight annoyance over at Tsuzuru. Not only was he loud, he was also getting alot of the director’s attention these days. What was so good about him? Masumi could write a script too, easy-</p><p>A vibration in his phone distracted him, and he looked down at the new LIME message.</p><p><em> How is it looking Masumi-kun, </em> the director’s message read, <em> is it almost time? </em></p><p>He peeked out at Tsuzuru; from what he could read on the screen, the play was coming up to an end. There was also the tell-tale hesitation, but excitement, in Tsuzuru’s fingers and movement, as he agonized over the perfect ending.</p><p><em> Yeah, </em> he typed back, <em> looks about ready </em>. He didn’t want her new message to come so fast, even though he anticipated getting it so much, because he wanted the moment to last longer. Being able to be in a chatroom like this with her all by himself was like a dream to him; he wanted to savor the moment, to spend time together just the two of them.</p><p><em> I have the tea ready </em>, came a foreign message not from the director.</p><p><em> The cake is a-ok-to-go! </em> came another message not from the director.</p><p>Confused, Masumi glanced at the chatroom settings. Oh, right, this was the Operation Saving Minagi Tsuzuru chat with all the other Spring Troupe members besides Tsuzuru.</p><p>“Ugh,” disgusted, Masumi tapped with deft fingers and kicked himself out of the chatroom. A second later, he was added back in.</p><p><em> Stop leaving the chatroom Masumi-kun! </em> That was from the director. <em> Come on, we’re going! </em></p><p>The director is coming into my room again, Masumi thought, and that was enough to energize him to climb down from his bunk bed. He went towards the door while Tsuzuru waited for the script to print, already looking rather unsteady on his feet once the euphoria of finishing the script wore off. Masumi glanced down at his LIME again for the indication, then opened the door right when the message arrived.</p><p>Quietly but with a flurry of motion, the four other members of Spring Troupe, plus the director, came into the room. Tsuzuru was picking up the papers of the script with lifeless arms when he suddenly felt them being lifted gently from his grasp. He barely had time to look up into the director’s smiling face when he was ushered up towards his bed by a pair of steady hands on his back. And before he could ask what was going on, someone was already tucking him into his blankets.</p><p>“Hot tea for the hard working playwright,” came Itaru’s velvety voice, setting down a cup of tea on a breakfast tray near the top of his bed.</p><p>“A cake too for the handsome sleeping beauty,” came Citron’s cheerful timbre as he placed a plate of strawberry cake beside the tea.</p><p>“Some friends to keep you company,” said Chikage, who placed a few stuffies—including some of rabbits—around Tsuzuru’s head.</p><p>“And a big word of thanks from all of us!” Sakuya beamed at Tsuzuru. Tsuzuru could just see the rest of Winter Troupe, who he had just finished writing the script for, waving from the outside of his room.</p><p>“You can rest now Tsuzuru-kun,” the director’s face peeked out over the edge of the bed, no doubt having no other place to stand with four men clambered to various degrees onto his ladder and frame. “We’ll take care of everything from here.”</p><p>“But-I-the reading-” Tsuzuru stammered, “there’s a note on page 17-”</p><p>“Don’t worry,” Isuzu reassured him, “Masumi-kun can fill us in on all the details, right Masumi-kun?” she looked over at him, “he hadn’t been in this room every time you were writing the script for nothing. I bet he knows the script just as well as you now from all the mumbling and note-taking you’ve done.”</p><p>“Of course,” Masumi said, “the script’s boring now since I know everything about it from start to finish.”</p><p>“Hey-” Tsuzuru was about to protest, but Isuzu’s chuckle distracted him.</p><p>“That just means he’ll be able to appreciate it all the better when he sees it on stage,” Isuzu said, “we’ll make it come alive for you Tsuzuru-kun, you can trust us.”</p><p>A smile came onto Tsuzuru’s face despite himself. He <em> did </em>trust them. He trusted that they would be able to understand his script the way he intended it—if not better—and he trusted that they would be able to bring all the characters to life. He could still remember the first time he saw his play being performed in front of him—and he was in it himself—it was like watching and living out a dream. Being able to create his own world and characters was really his fortune, and having such trustworthy companions to help him make it all the more real—he was really very lucky. And as his eyes closed, and his nose filled with jasmine and strawberries, he thought he could see angels, and detectives, and vampires dancing in front of his eyes. As the cheerful noises and footsteps receded from his consciousness, he let himself slip finally, finally, into a restful slumber.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Bonus:</p><p>"What's this-what happened to my padding?" Matsukawa exclaimed, looking sadly at his precious pieces of protective gear.</p><p>"Whoa," Kamekichi croaked from his shoulder, "looks like armor!"</p><p>"Geez..." Matsukawa sighed, "and I was going to use this to practice for my limbo games..."<br/>-----<br/>(I really thought there was mention of Matsukawa playing limbo in the game, but now I can't really find it...)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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